The cooling system is essential for proper operation of vehicles of many types. Particularly, large trucks (e.g., medium- or heavy-duty trucks) rely heavily on the cooling system for optimum operation and the protection of the vehicle engine from overheating.
One feature of cooling systems of large trucks is the use of multiple circuits distributing coolant throughout the engine and returning to a central location. Several different cooling zones exist in any modern engine, and large trucks can include several circuits of coolant that service different areas of the engine. The multitude of coolant circuits typically branch from the main coolant system at different points, with each circuit typically having an individual shut-off valve. The shut-off valves are typically spaced throughout the engine area such that a centralized location does not exist where all shut-off valves are located.
Additionally, multiple shut-off valves and the related fittings increase not only the complexity of an engine coolant system, but also the cost.
What is desired, therefore, is an improved system for centrally locating the shut-off valves for the multitude of coolant circuits in a vehicular engine.